HOW THE WOMEN HELD THE FORT.

Press, Volume XLVII, Issue 7527, 17 April 1890, Page 2

HOW THE WOMEN HELD THE FORT.

The autumn of 1690 in New England was: unusually severe. It was felt keenly by* a> little band of colonists in Massachusetts who thought it boded ill for the comin9 winter.. Tlie crops had heen meagre, an,d as a result provisions were scarce. To add to the general discotnfqrt ihere came e,very rumoura of fresh tarpuplea with the Indian tribes, and old settlers, croaked of sudden surprises and midnight massacres by the savage and remorseless red men. ■ '■

Atleneth these rumours were terribly confirmed. Late one afternoon a messenger with a white face and covered with the dust of travel arrived, bringing the ghastly intelligence th&t a neighbouring settlement not more than 50 miles off hact been attacked by a band of hostile Indians, its nien killed, and ite wpmen an.q children led awsy into captivity. The dire intelligence threw th§ colonists; ihtogreatconsternation. A meeting weh .at. once, held; to decide on the beat rap4e, pf defeupe in case the Indians should attack them. After some debate it was agreed that all the settlement should move intq the fort on the top of the hill until all danger of the attack should pass over. Thjfe fort was a large rectangular |ng "in'ade of logs, yTlfch loopholes io the Bides to enable those within to use their guns on an opposing force. There were, two doors in the building—a large one in front and a smaller one in the rear, both capable of being securely barred. 'f he day had opened fine, but ftt noon the clouds began to. gather, and it looked a£ is rain or siio'w might fall. The men of the; pettletnent bad, as usual, left for them daily work in the fields, leaving behind two of their number to look after tlje women and children. Aa an additional precaution an old brass cannon was fcept loaded, and this, at £he first alarm, was to be fired by the inmates of the fort. Old yncle Dan , ! (that was what the colonists, called Daniel Goodwin) had the cannon in charge. There were ten women in the fort, whose ages varied from seventy fco sixteen ; from Grandmother Bickford to sweet Patience Preston, who had trot justj completed her sixteenth year, but who already was regarded as. a woman. In the hard life of the early colonists there was not much time for girlhood. . -, None of the inmates of the fort were idle that autumn afternoon. Some werei preparing the evening meal, some minding the children, whlje others again were industriously plying the spindle.

At length Patience arose with a little sigh of relief, and, placing the Work with Which she had been busy on a chair, went out,flrst putting on a warm woollen jacket and tying on a demure litfcle Puritan hood. Traversing the courtyard, where the boys of the settlement were having a mimic war, one side representing England, the other France, she passed through the stockade gate and out into the country. But she dlft not go far. Some subtle, indefinable sense of danger seemed to delay her footsteps and render her suddenly tired. .

Before re-entering the stockade she sat down on a log and gazed dreamily at the distant Woods. Her face, pare and sweet, vet held a suggestion of sternness that neededonjT^hpcomipgyears to dwelop/ It was thesa,nie with tpe other wpinw Iμ fcheWrt /n some etrapge way the characteristics of the land, its hardnew, its coldneserifc* flrnmeas, had catered into the character of its eons and daughters, aad stamped ite impress on their fecesUiß was co hard I As the children of the. Lord in the old days, they were beset on all sides with enemies ; bf the wars and factions of neighbouring colonists: by terrible, iar-ieaehlng wopde, desolate, bleak, and mysterious, holding in their dark bosoms the remorseless and thirsty Indians-fiends who would dash, oafcr baby's brains or impale it alive before its toother's ejes. SlOFlTtne light faded. The sun, red and angry, was setting. Darker and darker grew the woods., And yet. W«* it fimeVf Patience hastily arose, robbed ncr eyes, and fcazed long and earnestly at the fores*. ?hen her lace went suddenly ShlS; she tottered and almost felVbnt, Spring herself, she ran as « her fife denendedonittothe stockade. Flying to where the boys were playing, she gasped out one word — .

"Indians!" fe s ; The boys, with blanched f see*, ©romled ATOUpd h(9R ■' ' " ■ * '• Fire the cannon T she cried to the one ibafcwiw nearest to her. Then, feeling as

if some leaden weights were on her feet, she staggered to the fort. Standing on the threshold, she managed to stammer out, "The Indians are coming 1 Lock the doors 1" The dreaded danger then had come. For a few seconds no one spoke, terror seemingly having paralysed all effort. But the silence was at last broken by convulsive sobbing, mingled with the shrill cries of the younger children, who instinctively felt that danger was at hand. Then the sullen roar of the cannon outside awoke the echoes; the boys had done their duty. As in every case of sudden danger some one unconsciously will be cho-ten leader, so now the affrighted inmates of the fort found their head in Abigail Perkins. Tall, thin, with a face that well became one who had left merry England for "conscience sake," she -arose and, with a voice whose natural harshness jwas increased by the thought of the impending ruin, spoke :-— "Callthe boys in. l Some of yon barricade the doors ; everyone that can fire a musket take one and load it."

Her words felt like whips on the terrorstricken minds of her hearers, rousing them at once to action. the caanou roared forth its appeal to the men in the distant" fields. Soou afterwards the boys came running in with the news that toe Indiana were"not more than a quarter of a mile away : but they need not have told it, for hardly had the larger door been barricaded than that most dreadful of all cries to the early settlers, the Indian warwhoop, was heard. Several of the faces grew whiter, and one woman fell fainting to the floor ; but again the voice of Abigail Perkins rang out, bidding them not to give up hope, that the men would surely be back before long. Of the two men whom the colonists had left that day behind, neither was capable of doing much for the fort's defence— Uncle Dan'l, whose advancing years compelled him to give up working in the fields, and Jeremiah Smith, who was lying ill of a fever. Yet no sooner were the words of Abigail Perkins heard than both men seemed endowed with new life. Throwing aside the stick he was wont to walk with, Uncle Dau'l seized a rifle and stood, his eyes blazing with an an old time light, at one of the loopholes. His ailing companion followed his example. Nearer and nearer oame the blood curdling yell. The human tigers were now at the stockade. Painted faces appeared here and there above the fence. At last the outer gate fell, and the Indians poured in and swooped like a hawk on Its prey down upon the fort. There must have been fifty of them, while within the fore there were only twenty all told, including men, women, and children. Crack I crack 1 crack ! rang out from as many different guns, and two of the invaders fell. But this in no wise stopped the onslaught, and soon the fort was surrounded by howliug, bloodthirsty demons. Again and again the sharp report of the rifle was heard. Every motneut the din grewraoreterriflcThelargedoornowbegan to show signs of giving way. But there was no sign of giving-upon the pale, rigid faces of its defenders. Woman to woman they stood, ready to sell their lives dearly. In the excitement consequent on the audden attack the small door in the rear had temporarily been forgotten. It had been fastened, but not as securely as it might have. been. Patience, with the children gathered around her, stood near it, trying to calm them. They sorely needed com-. I for ting, for the noises outside made one's flesh creep.? Had not the girl's ear* been dulled by the clamour all around her she I would have heard a, stealthy scratching afr the bottom of the small door. Presently it grew louder, then there was & sudden wrenching noise, an lo I from the foot of the door, as it were, the head of a savage appeared. ■

One of the children was the first to see it,, and .with a scream she rushed t0 Patience; who at that moment/ turned and also saw the Indian. There was no time to call for help; the lavader was already half In. Seising an axe, Patience rushed forward, but just as she was about to strike asudden faintnese came over her; the next moment she was aware that the axe was torn from her hand, aodoh.horropl the head' of the savage lay at her feet 1 Turning, she saw it was Abigail Perkins -who had dealt the blow, There abe stood, with axe in band, ready to defend again her children should occasion demand it.

There now ensued a short; silence, and a sudden hope came to the hearts of tho besieged that their enemies were leaving. But it was of short duration. Again the war-whoop-sounded, and now, What the colonials most dreaded, a strong smell of smoke.. ;. •■, . : ' ■■•"'■■ :, •■ •- > "Will our men never come f , thought Patience, aa she heard the flames beginning to snap and crackle outside the larger door. The smoke became so dense that it was impossible Iα distinguish objects «, fewfeet sway. Tnen the large door fell with a crash, and in rushed, no maddened redskins, but the men of the settlement.

Yes, relief had corao, but it was only ia the nick of time. The colonists as they entered seized the first persons they came across and carried them Into the open air. Then followed a hurried count, so as to make sure that no one was missing. Yes, every one was there, and almost Immediately afterwards the roof fell in, burying in its ma3B of cinders and burning wood the remains of the headless Indian.

!rhus ended the attack on the fort, and the record of its brave defence was banded down as an example of what women can do when called, ujppn tq defend those whom they love.